Sisodia and Accomplices Changed 140 Phones to Destroy Evidence: ED
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) politician Sisodia is telling flagrant lies to hide his involvement in the liquor scandal.
By Rakesh Raman
In a startling revelation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has revealed that 140 mobile phones were changed by over 30 persons allegedly involved in the liquor scam of Delhi.
Delhi deputy chief minister (CM) Manish Sisodia is the prime accused in this liquor scandal. The ED – which investigates serious financial crime cases – claimed in a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Thursday (November 10) that Sisodia and others involved in the excise / liquor scam have changed a total 140 phones with intention to destroy digital evidence during the relevant period. The value of these phones is estimated to be Rs 1.20 crore.
In this case, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) politician Sisodia is telling flagrant lies to hide his involvement in the liquor scandal.
After attending a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) hearing on October 17 in this case, Sisodia claimed without any evidence that CBI asked him to quit AAP and join Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which will make him Delhi CM.
Among his lies, Sisodia also said that CBI has admitted that there is no case against him but he is being harassed like his colleague Satyendar Jain, who is in jail for the past five months in a money laundering case.
But in a statement released on October 17, CBI refuted all the claims of Sisodia and said that Sisodia was questioned strictly on the allegations in the FIR (first information report) and the evidence collected so far during the course of investigation. CBI added that Sisodia’s statement will be verified in due course and further action will be taken as per requirements of investigation.
LIQUOR SCAM CASE
After the August 19 raids by the CBI at Sisodia’s residence, he and his AAP accomplices are telling blatant lies or half-truths with the aim to protect him in the liquor mafia collusion case.
Sisodia – who is a deputy CM under Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal – is facing serious allegations of corruption, criminal conspiracy, and falsification of government accounts, while the CBI has filed an FIR in which Sisodia’s name is at the top of a list of 15 accused in this case.
The opposition party in Delhi BJP has been running aggressive campaigns to get Sisodia removed from his position in the government. But Kejriwal is not removing him presumably for the fear that he might divulge the names of other AAP politicians who may be involved in liquor scam and other scandals.
In July, the Lt. Governor (LG) Vinai Saxena – who is the administrative head of Delhi – had asked the CBI to probe Sisodia’s surreptitious links with the liquor mafia that led to massive corruption in the sale of liquor shop licences in the city.
An August 22 article in The New Indian Express details different aspects of the case along with the names of the accused who allegedly colluded with Sisodia to run the criminal liquor network involved in an estimated corruption of hundreds of crores of rupees.
Now, instead of answering the media questions related to Delhi liquor scam in which Sisodia is allegedly involved, the AAP members are unsuccessfully trying to divert the case to unrelated issues such as Delhi school education that Sisodia handles.
In their media interactions on Sisodia’s liquor scam case, the AAP spokespersons had been unnecessarily flaunting a New York Times (NYT) school education article which looks like an advertorial (advertisement or paid article) arranged by AAP’s publicity department. The article without any research falsely praises Sisodia and Delhi school education.
Since Sisodia and his accomplices in AAP are not answering the questions and confusing the whole liquor scam case with their false rhetoric, the CBI should immediately arrest and interrogate Sisodia and others so that people could know the truth.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He runs various environment protection, education awareness, and anti-corruption campaigns, and publishes digital magazines and research reports on different subjects.
